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JENS H. GHRISTIANSEN, MONES ISLAND, NEW JERSEY, (P. 0., CHESTER, PA.)

MANUFACTURE OF VEGETABLE FIBER.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 266,771, dated October31, 1882,

Application filed September 14, 1882.

To all whom it may concern:

Belt known that I, JENS HEINRICH CHRIS- rmnsnv, residing on MouesIsland, county of Gloucester, and State of New Jersey, (P. 0., Chester,Pennsylvania,) have invented a new and useful Improvement in theManufacture of Vegetable Fiber; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same.

Hy invention consists in a process or mode of treating the stalks andleaves of certain plants, commonly known as flags and rushes, andbelonging respectively to the genera iris and jmzcus, for the purpose ofobtaining a filamentous fiber of suitable length, toughness, strength,and elasticity to adapt it for use in the manufacture of bagging, ropes,and other analogous articles. The flag being most valuable for thispurpose by reason of its abundance and size and length of stalk, I willrefer to it alone in the following description of the process. The flagsare in best condition for treatment when they have attained full growth,since the fiber will then have maximum length and the requisitestrength. They may, however, be used with good result when old or pastbloom.

A quantity of flags having been selected for treatment, they are firstsoftened by immersion in water, and then combed or hackled in the samemanner as flax, thus reducing them to long, thin, narrow strips orstrands. I then boil them, preferably in an open kettle, from twenty tothirty minutes in an aqueous solution of soda, lime, and soap. Theproportions of these ingredients are as follows: water, one hundredgallons; carbonate ot'soda, (sal-soda,) five to ten pounds; slaked lime,five to ten pounds; soap, (bar or soft,) one to two pounds. During thetime the boiling is in progress the flags should be moved about in thebath or frequently raised and lowered therein for the purpose ofconstantly bringing fresh caustic in contact with them, whereby theaction of the alkali is facilitated, the gluten being softened or partlydissolved. To facilitate this dippingoperation the material maybeattached by spring-clamps or other suitable fastenings to bars of ironor wood, and thus suspended in the liquid. Said bars may be raised andlowered by any suitable means; but I employ for (N0 specimens.)

this purpose a machine for which I propose to apply for separate LettersPatent. After rcmoving the material from the bath itis stripped orrubbed lengthwise with the hand or any suitable appliance for thepurpose of removing the adheringgluten,thus leavingthe woody fiberclean. It is then mashed and well rinsed in water, and thus put incondition for final treatment, which consists in immersing it in a bathof water, one hundred gallons; boracic acid, one to two pounds; soap,(bar or soft,) twopounds; glyceriue,onepouud. This bath is heated toboiling-point, and thefiberallowed to remain therein from one to twohours. Upon removing it from such bath it is thoroughly washed andallowed to dry, preferably in the open air. This completes the process,and the product is a thread-like or attenuated fiber, having such degreeof flexibility and strength as adapts it to be worked up into varioususeful articles, such as are usually made of hemp.

Instead of immersing the fiber in the bath of boracic acid, soap, andglycerine, as above described, I may first dip it in a bath of glycerinedissolved in water, (one-fourth pound to one pound of glycerine to onehundred gallons of water will sufiice,) and next in a bath of sulphateof sodathat is to say, a neutral bath formed of greatly-dilutedsulphuric acid and soda. Upon removing the fiber from this bath it isimmersed in weak ammonia-water to remove any traces of acid, which, ifleft in the fiber, renders it brittle.

The first step of the process to wit, hackliug or combing the materialinto fine strips is a very important, in fact an indispensable one,since it is thus prepared for the subsequent action of the causticalkali, which then has access to the glutinous matter, and quicklydestroysits adhesion to the woody fiber, whereas it' stalks of tlugs orrushes areimmersed intact in the alkali they are reduced to a conditionin which the fiber is worthless for the purpose in view. After combingorhackling,

the strips or strands thus produced must be prevented from entanglementduring the subsequent operation of boiling, and for this purpose Iconfine them in bundles (from two to three inches in thickness) by meansof wire, strips of tin, or other means of fastening; but

it is obviously necessary to untie these bundles after removal from thecaustic'alkali bath in order to strip off the gluten. It is, however,practicable to dispense with tying in bundles and to secure bunches ofthe strands at one one end only, so that they Will hang free in thebath. The only object to be attained in any case is to keep the strandsor fibers straight, or at least prevent them from forming into knots orsnarls. The fiber is obtained Without treatment in the boracic'acidbath; but the latter is employed to thoroughly clean the fiber and alsobleach it to a slight degree.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire tosecure by Letters Patent, is

1. The process of treating stalks and leaves of the plants hereinbeforespecified, which con- JENS HEINRICH OHRISTIANSEN.

Witnesses AMos W. HART, SoLoN G. KEMON.

